DOCSLIB.ORG

Download PDF File (457KB)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Download PDF File (457KB) Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8 271 - 276 Wien, September 2006 Change in the zoogeographical structure of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) caused by urban pressure in the Sofia region (Bulgaria) Vera ANTONOVA & Lyubomir PENEV Abstract A comparison of the zoogeographical peculiarities of the myrmecofauna in urban and non-urban habitats in Sofia re- gion is performed. The proportion of the widespread Holarctic species was twice as high in the urban as compared to the non-urban sites. Also Euro-Caucasian elements are well represented in the urban sites. The share of South-Transpalae- arctic, Eurasian steppe and Boreo-Montane elements is low or such elements are absent from the urban sites. Key words: Ants, Formicidae, urban landscape, Bulgaria, zoogeography. Vera Antonova (contact author) & Dr. Lyubomir Penev, Central Laboratory of General Ecology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Str., 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. E-mail: [email protected] Introduction Comparatively few investigations exist on the change of The main anthropogenic factors are: disturbance of the struc- zoogeographical structure of ants in urban areas. It is well ture of habitats, changes in microclimate and nutrition re- known that widespread invertebrate species are common in sources (ANDERSEN 1990, 1995a). Unfortunately, most of urban environments compared to its surroundings (KLAUS- the species of ants from the above mentioned studies do not NITZER 1990). This pattern has been observed for ants in exist in the European myrmecofauna and thus direct com- different parts of the world: Japan – Tokyo and Chiba (KON- parisons are not possible. DOH 1978, YAMAGUCHI 2004), Kitakyushu (KONDOH & KI- In this study we investigate changes in the zoogeo- TAZAWA 1984); USA – Raleigh (North Carolina) (NUHN & graphical structure of the ant fauna in both urban and rural WRIGHT 1979), urban zones on the Atlantic coast (KING landscape of the city of Sofia. We discuss the possibility & GREEN 1995 – in MCINTYRE 2000); Europe – Warsaw of using the zoogeographical structure of ants for bioindi- (PISARSKI & CZECHOWSKI 1978, BANASZAK & al. 1978, cation in urban landscapes. CZECHOWSKI & al. 1979, PISARSKI 1982, PISARSKI & CZE- Material and methods CHOWSKI 1987, CZECHOWSKI & al. 1990, CZECHOWSKI & PISARSKI 1990, CZECHOWSKI 1991), Espoo (VEPSÄLÄIN- The city of Sofia is situated at 550 m a.s.l. on average, the EN & WUORENRINNE 1978), Liege (GASPAR & THIRION average annual temperature is around 10.2 °C and the 1978), Garraf (Barcelona) (RESTREPO & al. 1985), Leipzig average annual rainfall is around 560 mm (BLUSKOVA & 2 (RICHTER & al. 1986), Köln (LIPPKE & CÖLLN 1991, BEHR al. 1983). The urban area covers approximately 220 km & al. 1996), Gönnersdorf (BEHR & CÖLLN 1993), Mainz (KOVACHEV 2005). The central part of the city is situated (DAUBER 1995, DAUBER 1997, DAUBER & EISENBEIS 1997), at approximately 42° 41' N and 23° 19' E. With respect to Wien (SCHLICK-STEINER & STEINER 1999), Linz (AMBACH climate, Sofia is situated relatively near (c. 120 km) to the 1999). Generally, each urban fauna is a selection from the border between temperate and submediterranean climates. regional species pool, therefore, depending on a city's geo- The material for the present study was collected in graphical position, species from the respective zoogeogra- 2003 - 2005. It is kept in the collection of V. Antonova in phical zone prevail (PISARSKI & KUĹESZA 1982, VEPSÄLÄ- the Central Laboratory of General Ecology of the Bulgari- INEN & PISARSKI 1982). PISARSKI & VEPSÄLÄINEN (1987) an Academy of Sciences. Fifty-six of the localities were note that the share of Palaearctic ants is up to 90 % in Eur- situated in the urban greenery ("urban" sites in Fig. 1): opean cities of the temperate climatic zone while that of wooded and open areas in parks, green yards along trans- European species is relatively small. In Mainz European port corridors and streets; amounting to a total of ten "for- and Holarctic ant species prevail (DAUBER 1995). In War- est" sites and 46 "meadow" sites (Fig. 1). Another eight lo- saw Palaearctic and South-Eurosiberian ants constitute the calities are situated in the vicinity of Sofia ("non-urban" bulk of the fauna (PISARSKI & CZECHOWSKI 1987). sites in Fig. 1), at the foot of Vitosha, Lyulin and Lozen Many authors studied the possibility to use ants as bio- Mountains; amounting to a total of two "forest" sites and indicators on the basis of functional groups (ANDERSEN six "meadow" sites. The non-urban sites are situated not 1990, 1995a, b, 1997a, b, c, d, ANDERSEN & SPARLING 1997, higher than 150 m above the average altitude of the city VANDERWOUDE & al. 1997а, b, CHUDZICKA & SKIBIŃSKA with distance up to 10 km from the city ring road. 1998, PECK & al. 1998, NEW 2000, READ & ANDERSEN The urban forest localities are situated within the Sofia 2000, HOFFMANN & al. 2000, ANDERSEN & al. 2002, HOFF- GLOBENET sites described by PENEV & al. (2004). Spe- MANN & ANDERSEN 2003). Anthropogenic disturbances cies compositions of plant communities are mostly an- have a different impact on different ant species, dependent thropogenic. Most of the sites are situated in oak forests on their ecological needs (PĘTAL 1980, ANDERSEN 2000). (50 - 90 years old) with prevalence of the mesophilous in- Stefan-Schödl-Gedenkband / Stefan Schödl Memorial Volume Fig. 1: Sampling sites in Sofia city and surroundings. M - meadow; F – forest; ■ - non-urban site; ● – urban site. troduced Red Oak (Quercus rubra L.) (formation Quer- SOV & DLUSSKY (1992), SEIFERT (1996), and CZECHOWS- ceta rubrae). The sites in open urban areas were chosen KI & al. (2002). on the basis of prevalence of the dominant plant species: The zoogeographical classification of ants was taken Poa spp., Festuca spp., Phleum pratense L., Avena fatua from ATANASSOV (1952) and CZECHOWSKI & al. (2002), L., Setaria viridis (L.), Cynodon dactylon PERS., Dactylis with some changes and additions. glomerata L., Trifolium spp., Taraxacum officinale WEB- The reliability of differences in percentage within each BER, Bellis perennis L., Capsella bursa-pastoris MED., and zoogeographical category between the city and its vicinity Plantago spp. Similar plant communities were chosen a- was tested with the "Differences between two percentag- round the city, in the non-urban sites (Fig. 1). es" two-sided significance test available in Statistica for For the purpose of the present study the direct sampl- Windows 5.0 (STATSOFT 1995), which is suitable for ana- ing method (BESTELMEYER & al. 2000) was used. In the for- lysing data from uneven sampling design. est sites ant colonies were searched in the leaf litter, in _______________________________________________ the ground (up to 25 cm depth), under stones, under the Tab. 1: Zoogeographical classification of the ant species in bark of trees, in logs and nuts. In the meadow sites colo- Sofia and its surroundings. BM – Boreo-Montane; NP – nies were searched in the ground, in the grass turf and un- North-Transpalaearctic; H – Holarctic; AP – Amphipalae- der stones. The sampling area per site was approximately arctic; E – European; ES – Euro-Siberian s.str.; EC – Euro- 1 ha and search was conducted for 4 hours per site. The to- Caucasian; CE – Central-European; SP – South-Trans- tal number of colonies we found is 1634. Ants were de- palaearctic; St – Eurasian steppe; Pont – Pontic; MD – termined to species level by use of the keys of ATANAS- Mediterranean s.str. → 272 No. Species Zoogeographical element Sofia Surroundings 1. Ponera coarctata (LATREILLE, 1802) MD + 2. Myrmica rubra (LINNAEUS, 1758) H + 3. Myrmica ruginodis NYLANDER, 1846 NP + + 4. Myrmica rugulosa NYLANDER, 1849 ES + + 5. Myrmica scabrinodis NYLANDER, 1846 H + + 6. Myrmica schencki VIERECK, 1903 H + + 7. Myrmica specioides BONDROIT, 1918 CE + 8. Myrmica sulcinodis NYLANDER, 1846 BM + + 9. Myrmica rugulososcabrinodis KARAWAJEW, 1929 Pont + 10. Myrmica lonae FINZI, 1926 ES + + 11. Myrmica salina RUZSKY, 1905 ES + 12. Myrmica sabuleti MEINERT, 1861 ES + + 13. Stenamma debile (FOERSTER, 1850) EC + 14. Solenopsis fugax (LATREILLE, 1798) MD + + 15. Temnothorax nylanderi (FOERSTER, 1850) CE + + 16. Temnothorax affinis (MAYR, 1855) EC + 17. Temnothorax tuberum (FABRICIUS, 1775) ES + + 18. Temnothorax unifasciatus (LATREILLE, 1798) EC + + 19. Messor structor (LATREILLE, 1798) MD + 20. Tetramorium cf. caespitum (LINNAEUS, 1758) H + + 21. Tetramorium hungaricum RÖSZLER, 1935 MD + 22. Tetramorium moravicum KRATOCHVIL, 1941 ? + + 23. Myrmecina graminicola (LATREILLE, 1802) AP + + 24. Dolichoderus quadripunctatus (LINNAEUS, 1771) ES + + 25. Tapinoma erraticum (LATREILLE, 1798) MD + + 26. Plagiolepis pygmaea (LATREILLE, 1798) MD + + 27. Plagiolepis taurica SANTSCHI, 1920 St + 28. Camponotus vagus (SCOPOLI, 1763) ES + + 29. Camponotus aethiops (LATREILLE, 1798) MD + + 30. Camponotus ligniperda (LATREILLE, 1802) E + 31. Camponotus piceus (LEACH, 1825) MD + + 32. Camponotus fallax (NYLANDER, 1856) ES + + 33. Camponotus truncates (SPINOLA, 1808) EC + 34. Prenolepis nitens (MAYR, 1853) Pont + 35. Lasius niger (LINNAEUS, 1758) H + + 36. Lasius platythorax SEIFERT, 1991 NP? + + 37. Lasius brunneus (LATREILLE, 1798) EC + + 38. Lasius alienus (FOERSTER, 1850) H + + 39. Lasius paralienus SEIFERT, 1992 E + + 40. Lasius psammophilus SEIFERT, 1992 E + 41. Lasius flavus (FABRICIUS, 1782) H + + 42. Lasius citrinus EMERY, 1922 SP + + 43. Lasius balcanicus SEIFERT, 1988 ? + 44. Lasius fuliginosus (LATREILLE, 1798) AP + + 45. Formica fusca LINNAEUS, 1758 NP + + 46. Formica cinerea MAYR, 1853
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ants Inhabiting Oak Cynipid Galls in Hungary
    North-Western Journal of Zoology 2020, vol.16 (1) - Correspondence: Notes 95 Ants inhabiting oak Cynipid galls in Hungary Oaks are known to harbour extremely rich insect communi- ties, among them more than 100 species of gall wasps (Hy- menoptera: Cynipidae) in Europe (Csóka et al. 2005, Melika 2006). Some gall wasp species are able to induce large and structurally complex galls that can sometimes be abundant on oaks, providing attractive shelters for several arthropod taxa including ant species. Ants are among the most important players in many ecosystems and they are also considered to act as ecosystem engineers (Folgarait, 1998). They are also famous for having ecological or physical interactions with a great variety of other organisms, such as gall wasps. Ants are known to tend Figure 1. Inner structure of the asexual Andricus quercustozae gall in- aphid colonies on the developing galls and, as general pred- habited by ants. ators, they prey on arthropods approaching the protected aphid colonies. Some oak cynipid galls secrete honeydew on their surface. This sweet substrate attracts ants and, in re- turn, the ants protect the galls from predators and parasi- toids (Abe, 1988, 1992; Inouye & Agrawal 2004; Nicholls, 2017). Beyond this obvious ecological interaction between gall wasps and ants, this association continues after the gall wasp’s life cycle has ceased. Certain galls are known to serve as either temporary or permanent shelter for many ant species. Some galls (e.g. An- dricus hungaricus (Hartig), Andricus quercustozae (Bosc), Aphelonyx cerricola (Giraud)) are large enough even for re- productive ant colonies. The advantages of galls as nesting logs are multifaceted.
    [Show full text]
  • Succession in Ant Communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Deciduous Forest Clear-Cuts – an Eastern European Case Study
    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGYENTOMOLOGY ISSN (online): 1802-8829 Eur. J. Entomol. 114: 92–100, 2017 http://www.eje.cz doi: 10.14411/eje.2017.013 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Succession in ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in deciduous forest clear-cuts – an Eastern European case study IOAN TĂUŞAN 1, JENS DAUBER 2, MARIA R. TRICĂ1 and BÁLINT MARKÓ 3 1 Department of Environmental Sciences, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu; Applied Ecology Research Centre, Dr. Raţiu 5-7, 550012 Sibiu, Romania; e-mails: [email protected], [email protected] 2 Thünen Institute of Biodiversity, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Bundesallee 50, D-38116 Braunschweig, Germany; e-mail: [email protected] 3 Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor 5-7, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; e-mails: [email protected], [email protected] Key words. Hymenoptera, Formicidae, ants, deciduous forests, secondary succession, clear-cutting, community structure, pitfall traps Abstract. Clear-cutting, the main method of harvesting in many forests in the world, causes a series of dramatic environmental changes to the forest habitat and removes habitat resources for arboreal and epigeal species. It results in considerable changes in the composition of both plant and animal communities. Ants have many critical roles in the maintenance and functioning of forest ecosystems. Therefore, the response of ants to clear-cutting and the time it takes for an ant community to recover after clear- cutting are important indicators of the effect of this harvesting technique on the forest ecosystem. We investigated ground-dwelling ant communities during secondary succession of deciduous forests in Transylvania, Romania.
    [Show full text]
  • Taxonomic Revision of the Cretan Fauna of the Genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with Notes on the Endemism of Ant Fauna of Crete
    ANNALES ZOOLOGICI (Warszawa), 2018, 68(4): 769-808 TAXONOMIC REVISION OF THE CRETAN FAUNA OF THE GENUS TEMNOTHORAX MAYR, 1861 (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE), WITH NOTES ON THE ENDEMISM OF ANT FAUNA OF CRETE SEBASTIAN SALATA1*, LECH BOROWIEC2, APOSTOLOS TRICHAS3 1Institute for Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences, Bukowska 19, 60-809 Poznań, Poland; e-mail: [email protected] 2Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Taxonomy, University of Wrocław, Przybyszewskiego 65, 51-148 Wrocław, Poland; e-mail: [email protected] 3Natural History Museum of Crete, University of Crete, Greece; e-mail: [email protected] *Corresponding author Abstract.— We revise the Cretan species of the ant genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861. Sixteen species are recognized, including seven new species which are possiblyendemic to Crete: T. crassistriatus sp. nov., T. daidalosi sp. nov., T. ikarosi sp. nov., T. incompletus sp. nov., T. minotaurosi sp. nov., T. proteii sp. nov., and T. variabilis sp. nov. A new synonymy is proposed, Temnothorax exilis (Emery, 1869) =Temnothorax specularis (Emery, 1916) syn. nov. An identification key to Cretan Temnothorax, based on worker caste is given. We provide a checklist of ant species described from Crete and discuss their status, distribution and endemism. Ë Key words.— Key, checklist, Myrmicinae, new species, Mediterranean Subregion, new synonymy INTRODUCTION 2000 mm in the high White Mountains range (Lefka Ori) (Grove et al. 1993). Temperature on mountains Crete is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean seems to fall at a rate of about 6°C per 1000 m (Rack- ham & Moody 1996). Above 1600 m most of the precipi- Sea and the biggest island of Greece.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthropods in Linear Elements
    Arthropods in linear elements Occurrence, behaviour and conservation management Thesis committee Thesis supervisor: Prof. dr. Karlè V. Sýkora Professor of Ecological Construction and Management of Infrastructure Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology Group Wageningen University Thesis co‐supervisor: Dr. ir. André P. Schaffers Scientific researcher Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology Group Wageningen University Other members: Prof. dr. Dries Bonte Ghent University, Belgium Prof. dr. Hans Van Dyck Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium Prof. dr. Paul F.M. Opdam Wageningen University Prof. dr. Menno Schilthuizen University of Groningen This research was conducted under the auspices of SENSE (School for the Socio‐Economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment) Arthropods in linear elements Occurrence, behaviour and conservation management Jinze Noordijk Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof. dr. M.J. Kropff, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Doctorate Board to be defended in public on Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 1.30 PM in the Aula Noordijk J (2009) Arthropods in linear elements – occurrence, behaviour and conservation management Thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen NL with references, with summaries in English and Dutch ISBN 978‐90‐8585‐492‐0 C’est une prairie au petit jour, quelque part sur la Terre. Caché sous cette prairie s’étend un monde démesuré, grand comme une planète. Les herbes folles s’y transforment en jungles impénétrables, les cailloux deviennent montagnes et le plus modeste trou d’eau prend les dimensions d’un océan. Nuridsany C & Pérennou M 1996.
    [Show full text]
  • Irish Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Distribution, Conservation and Functional Relationships
    Irish Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Distribution, Conservation and Functional Relationships Submitted by: Dipl. Biol. Robin Niechoj Supervisor: Prof. John Breen Submitted in accordance with the academic requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Limerick Limerick, April 2011 Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. References and acknowledgements have been made, where necessary, to the work of others. Signature: Date: Robin Niechoj Department of Life Sciences Faculty of Science and Engineering University of Limerick ii Acknowledgements/Danksagung I wish to thank: Dr. John Breen for his supervision, encouragement and patience throughout the past 5 years. His infectious positive attitude towards both work and life was and always will be appreciated. Dr. Kenneth Byrne and Dr. Mogens Nielsen for accepting to examine this thesis, all the CréBeo team for advice, corrections of the report and Dr. Olaf Schmidt (also) for verification of the earthworm identification, Dr. Siobhán Jordan and her team for elemental analyses, Maria Long and Emma Glanville (NPWS) for advice, Catherine Elder for all her support, including fieldwork and proof reading, Dr. Patricia O’Flaherty and John O’Donovan for help with the proof reading, Robert Hutchinson for his help with the freeze-drying, and last but not least all the staff and postgraduate students of the Department of Life Sciences for their contribution to my work. Ich möchte mich bedanken bei: Katrin Wagner für ihre Hilfe im Labor, sowie ihre Worte der Motivation.
    [Show full text]
  • Hymenoptera : Formicidae) Im Tessin (Schweiz
    Syntopie dreier Arten der Gattung Stenamma Westwood 1840 (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) im Tessin (Schweiz) Autor(en): Neumeyer, Rainer / Giacalone, Isabella / Moretti, Marco Objekttyp: Article Zeitschrift: Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft = Bulletin de la Société Entomologique Suisse = Journal of the Swiss Entomological Society Band (Jahr): 73 (2000) Heft 1-2 PDF erstellt am: 30.09.2021 Persistenter Link: http://doi.org/10.5169/seals-402767 Nutzungsbedingungen Die ETH-Bibliothek ist Anbieterin der digitalisierten Zeitschriften. Sie besitzt keine Urheberrechte an den Inhalten der Zeitschriften. Die Rechte liegen in der Regel bei den Herausgebern. Die auf der Plattform e-periodica veröffentlichten Dokumente stehen für nicht-kommerzielle Zwecke in Lehre und Forschung sowie für die private Nutzung frei zur Verfügung. Einzelne Dateien oder Ausdrucke aus diesem Angebot können zusammen mit diesen Nutzungsbedingungen und den korrekten Herkunftsbezeichnungen weitergegeben werden. Das Veröffentlichen von Bildern in Print- und Online-Publikationen ist nur mit vorheriger Genehmigung der Rechteinhaber erlaubt. Die systematische Speicherung von Teilen des elektronischen Angebots auf anderen Servern bedarf ebenfalls des schriftlichen Einverständnisses der Rechteinhaber. Haftungsausschluss Alle Angaben erfolgen ohne Gewähr für Vollständigkeit oder Richtigkeit. Es wird keine Haftung übernommen für Schäden durch die Verwendung von Informationen aus diesem Online-Angebot oder durch das Fehlen von Informationen. Dies gilt auch für
    [Show full text]
  • Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
    ANNALS OF THE UPPER SILESIAN MUSEUM IN BYTOM ENTOMOLOGY Vol. 27 (online 008): 1–51 ISSN 0867-1966, eISSN 2544-039X (online) Bytom, 11.12.2018 SEBASTIAN SALATA1 , LECH BOROWIEC2 Taxonomic and faunistic notes on Greek ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2199191 1 Institute for Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences, Bukowska 19, 60-809 Poznań, Poland 2 Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Taxonomy, University of Wrocław, Przybyszewskiego 65, 51-148 Wrocław, Poland e-mail: 1 [email protected], 2 [email protected] Abstract: Cataglyphis cretica (FOREL, 1910) is raised to species rank and redescribed. The following synonymies are proposed: Lepisiota nigra (DALLA TORRE, 1893) = Lepisiota splendens KARAVAIEV, 1912 syn. nov.; Camponotus boghossiani FOREL, 1911 = Camponotus boghossiani stenoticus EMERY, 1915 syn. nov.; Camponotus oertzeni FOREL, 1889 = Camponotus andrius DALLA TORRE, 1893 syn. nov., = Campnotus oertzeni kappariensis DALLA TORRE, 1893 syn. nov. Gynes of Aphaenogaster aktaci KIRAN & TEZCAN, 2008, Temnothorax angustifrons Csősz, Heinze & Mikó, 2015, Temnothorax dessyi (MENOZZI, 1936), Temnothorax kemali (SANTSCHI, 1934), Temnothorax smyrnensis (FOREL, 1911) and Temnothorax solerii (MENOZZI, 1936) are described for the first time. Aphaenogaster aktaci KIRAN & TEZCAN, 2008 and Temnothorax kemali (SANTSCHI, 1934) are new to Europe and Greece. New records for 10 species and an updated checklist of 315 species or morphospecies occurring in Greece is given. Key words: redescription, new status, species new to Europe, species new to Greece, ants, Greece. INTRODUCTION Ant fauna of Greece has been intensively studied in recent years. The first impulse for studies on Greek ant fauna was the publication of a checklist by LEGAKIS (2011).
    [Show full text]
  • Evolution of Colony Characteristics in the Harvester Ant Genus
    Evolution of Colony Characteristics in The Harvester Ant Genus Pogonomyrmex Dissertation zur Erlangung des naturwissenschaftlichen Doktorgrades der Bayerischen Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg vorgelegt von Christoph Strehl Nürnberg Würzburg 2005 - 2 - - 3 - Eingereicht am: ......................................................................................................... Mitglieder der Prüfungskommission: Vorsitzender: ............................................................................................................. Gutachter : ................................................................................................................. Gutachter : ................................................................................................................. Tag des Promotionskolloquiums: .............................................................................. Doktorurkunde ausgehändigt am: ............................................................................. - 4 - - 5 - 1. Index 1. Index................................................................................................................. 5 2. General Introduction and Thesis Outline....................................................... 7 1.1 The characteristics of an ant colony...................................................... 8 1.2 Relatedness as a major component driving the evolution of colony characteristics.................................................................................................10 1.3 The evolution
    [Show full text]
  • Based Alpha-Taxonomy of Eusocial Organisms
    Myrmecological News 19 1-15 Vienna, January 2014 Application of Exploratory Data Analyses opens a new perspective in morphology- based alpha-taxonomy of eusocial organisms Bernhard SEIFERT, Markus RITZ & Sándor CSŐSZ Abstract This article introduces a new application of the Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) algorithms Ward's method, Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA), K-Means clustering, and a combination of Non-Metric Multidimen- sional Scaling and K-Means clustering (NMDS-K-Means) for hypothesis formation in morphology-based alpha-taxonomy of ants. The script is written in R and freely available at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/agnesclustering/. The characte- ristic feature of the new approach is an unconventional application of linear discriminant analysis (LDA): No species hypothesis is imposed. Instead each nest sample, composed of individual ant workers, is treated as a separate class. This creates a multidimensional distance matrix between group centroids of nest samples as input data for the clustering methods. We mark the new method with the prefix "NC" (Nest Centroid). The performance of NC-Ward, NC-UPGMA, NC-K-Means clustering, and a combination of Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling and K-Means clustering (NC- NMDS-K-Means) was comparatively tested in 48 examples with multiple morphological character sets of 74 cryptic species of 13 ant genera. Data sets were selected specifically on the criteria that the EDA methods are likely to lead to errors – i.e., for the condition that any character under consideration overlapped interspecifically in bivariate plots against body size. Morphospecies hypotheses were formed through interaction between EDA and a confirmative linear discri- minant analysis (LDA) in which samples with disagreements between the primary species hypotheses and EDA classifica- tion were set as wild-cards.
    [Show full text]
  • Of the Czech Republic Aktualizovaný Seznam Mravenců (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) České Republiky
    5 Werner, Bezděčka, Bezděčková, Pech: Aktualizovaný seznam mravenců (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) České republiky Acta rerum naturalium, 22: 5–12, 2018 ISSN 2336-7113 (Online), ISSN 1801-5972 (Print) An updated checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Czech Republic Aktualizovaný seznam mravenců (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) České republiky PETR WERNER1, PAVEL BEZDĚČKA2, KLÁRA BEZDĚČKOVÁ2, PAVEL PECH3 1 Gabinova 823, CZ-152 00 Praha 5; e-mail: [email protected] (corresponding author); 2 Muzeum Vysočiny Jihlava, Masarykovo náměstí 55, CZ-586 01 Jihlava; e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]; 3 Přírodovědecká fakulta, Univerzita Hradec Králové, Rokitanského 62, CZ-500 03 Hradec Králové; email: [email protected] Publikováno on-line 25. 07. 2018 Abstract: In this paper an updated critical checklist of the ants of the Czech Republic is provided. A total of 111 valid names of outdoor species are listed based on data from museum and private collections. Over the past decade several faunistic and taxonomic changes concerning the Czech ant fauna have occurred. The species Formica clara Forel, 1886, Lasius carniolicus Mayr, 1861, Temnothorax jailensis (Arnol’di, 1977) and Tetramorium hungaricum Röszler, 1935 were recorded on the Czech territory for the first time. Further, the presence of Camponotus atricolor (Nylander, 1849) and Lasius myops Forel, 1894, formerly regarded as uncertain, was confirmed. Moreover, the status of Tetramorium staerckei Kratochvíl, 1944 was reviewed as a species. Besides outdoor species, a list of five indoor (introduced) species is given. Abstrakt: Práce obsahuje aktualizovaný seznam mravenců České republiky. Na základě údajů získaných z muzejních a soukromých sbírek je uvedeno celkem 111 volně žijících druhů.
    [Show full text]
  • Landscape-Scale Connections Between the Land Use, Habitat Quality and Ecosystem Goods and Services in the Mureç/Maros Valley
    TISCIA monograph series Landscape-scale connections between the land use, habitat quality and ecosystem goods and services in the Mureç/Maros valley Edited by László Körmöczi Szeged-Arad 2012 Two countries, one goal, joint success! Hungary-Romania European Union Cross-Border Co-operation European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007-2013 Landscape-scale connections between the land use, habitat quality and ecosystem goods and services in the Mureç/Maros valley TISCIA monograph series 1. J. Hamar and A. Sárkány-Kiss (eds.): The Maros/Mure§ River Valley. A Study of the Geography, Hydrobiology and Ecology of the River and its Environment, 1995. 2. A. Sárkány-Kiss and J. Hamar (eds.): The Cri§/Kórós Rivers' Valleys. A Study of the Geography, Hydrobiology and Ecology of the River and its Environment, 1997. 3. A. Sárkány-Kiss and J. Hamar (eds.): The Some§/Szamos River Valleys. A Study of the Geography, Hydrobiology and Ecology of the River and its Environment, 1999. 4. J. Hamar and A. Sárkány-Kiss (eds.): The Upper Tisa Valley. Preparatory Proposal for Ramsar Site Designation and an Ecological Background, 1999. 5. L. Gallé and L. Kórmóczi (eds.): Ecology of River Valleys, 2000. 6. Sárkány-Kiss and J. Hamar (eds.): Ecological Aspects of the Tisa River Basin, 2002. 7. L. Gallé (ed.): Vegetation and Fauna of Tisza River Basin, I. 2005. 8. L. Gallé (ed.): Vegetation and Fauna of Tisza River Basin, II. 2008. 9. L. Kórmóczi (ed.): Ecological and socio-economic relations in the valleys of river K6ros/Cri§ and river Maros/Mure§, 2011. 10. L. Kórmóczi (ed.): Landscape-scale connections between the land use, habitat quality and ecosystem goods and services in the Mure§/Maros valley, 2012.
    [Show full text]
  • From Field to Fat
    From field to fat Integrating approaches to unveil use of trophic resources by tropical and temperate ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) vom Fachbereich Biologie der Technischen Universität Darmstadt zur Erlangung des Grades Doktor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.) Dissertation von Félix Baumgarten Rosumek aus Blumenau, Brasilien Erstgutachterin: PD Dr. Michael Heethoff Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Nico Blüthgen Darmstadt 2018 Rosumek, Félix Baumgarten: From field to fat – Integrating approaches to unveil use of trophic resources by tropical and temperate ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Darmstadt, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Jahr der Veröffentlichung der Dissertation auf TUprints: 2018 URN: urn:nbn:de:tuda-tuprints-81035 Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 12.10.2018 Veröffentlicht unter CC BY-SA 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - Samwise Gamgee Table of contents 1. Summary 7 2. Zusammenfassung 9 3. Introduction 11 3.1. Getting the big picture: use of trophic resources and ecosystem functioning 11 3.2. Getting the focus: trophic biology of ants 13 3.3: Getting the answers: one method to rule them all? 17 3.4: Getting to work: resource use in tropical and temperate ants 18 4. Study sites 19 4.1. Brazil 19 4.2 Germany 20 5. Natural history of ants: what we (do not) know about trophic and temporal niches of Neotropical species 21 6. Patterns and dynamics of neutral lipid fatty acids in ants – implications for ecological studies 22 7.
    [Show full text]